Baylor not giving up on season without postseason

DALLAS -- There won't be any postseason play for Baylor
because of self-imposed sanctions, but that doesn't mean the Bears
are giving up on the season.

"Last year, we won 14 games. Our first practice, we talked
about 15 wins," senior forward Terrance Thomas said Thursday
during the Big 12 media day. "That is one of our goals, to have a
winning season. We're not going to back down."

The Bears are ready to get back to just playing basketball after
a summer of scandal. A former Baylor player is charged with the
murder of a teammate and coach Dave Bliss was fired after the
investigation uncovered potentially serious NCAA violations.

In the aftermath, Baylor's top three scorers from last season
transferred, two of them to other Big 12 schools.

New coach Scott Drew said he's been impressed with the players
who stayed.

"They work extremely hard," Drew said. "When you only have
eight scholarship players, you need to be in better shape than
normal because you have to play more minutes."

Thomas said the biggest change in the routine has been more
running and the coach's participation.

"Sprints, sprints, sprints," Thomas said. "I've never had a
coach who ran wind sprints and beat the guys. And I've never had a
coach that doesn't swear."<

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^NOT THE RIGHT TIME TO CALL:@ During his stay in Dallas for the
Big 12 media day, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight didn't try to call
Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, his longtime friend.

"I try to call him when he's in a good mood," Knight
explained.

The Cowboys lost 16-0 Sunday at Tampa Bay, snapping a five-game
winning streak.

"I'm going to call him tomorrow (Friday). I figure after five
days, he may be ready to talk a little bit," Knight said. "There
are optimum times to call both Parcells and me."<

"He's going to bring a passion and confidence, which is
something that we need," McFarlin said. "John is someone who's
going to distribute the ball, lead the floor and when things are
down, he's going to pick us up."<

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^RISE AND SHINE:@ Colorado players are getting an early start
with 6 a.m. practices. Coach Ricardo Patton plans to keep that
schedule throughout the semester.

The Buffaloes won 20 games last season, but lost in the first
round of the NCAA tournament.

"I thought we had to convince our guys that we needed to ask
more of ourselves this year," Patton said. "We have to get up a
little earlier and stay up a little later and do a lot more."

While they griped at first, players have gotten used to the
schedule.

"It adds discipline. You can't stay up all night," said Michel
Morandais. "If you get up earlier, you get your work done and have
the rest of the day."<

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^FREE THROWS: Nebraska guard Jake Muhleisen played just eight
minutes in last season's Big 12 opener before he fractured his hip.
He's fully healthy and ready to rejoin the lineup that also
includes the other four starters from a year ago. ... Kansas State
lost three starters and its top four scorers from last season.
Coach Jim Wooldridge said all seven of his newcomers could play a
lot of minutes. "We have a lot to find out as we move through
non-conference play," he said. ... New Iowa State coach Wayne
Morgan isn't scraping the defensive philosophy of going after
rebounds, but he's changing the offense. "It's really a fast-paced
system," said senior Marcus Jefferson. Morgan was an assistant
coach last season for Cyclones coach Larry Eustachy, who resigned
during the summer.